Vonn posted news of the adoption on her Twitter page: “Leo brightened my day — adopted him from an animal shelter.”

Then, a few months back, Vonn re-injured that same knee, tearing the repaired ACL again during a speed training session November 19 — a huge blow to the accomplished athlete, who’d spent nearly a year going through surgeries, rehab, and physical therapy, just so she could return to the slopes again. Tuesday, Vonn announced that she would be unable to compete in Sochi, much to her disappointment.

“I’m pretty bummed out,” Vonn told the press after bowing out of the Sochi games.

Just before Christmas, she and her boyfriend, golfer Tiger Woods, walked through the same Florida shelter, hoping to find the perfect dog for their family. While Tiger had his eye on a different dog, WPBF 25 News reports, Vonn says she knew Leo was the one for her. After all, she and Leo have something in common.

“He has a bad knee, just like me,” Vonn tells WPBF 25 News of her new best friend.

Leo sustained a serious leg injury when he was hit by a car as a puppy, leaving him with some residual problems. Before taking Leo home, Vonn spent time talking to Furry Friends veterinarian Dr. Todd Vinoski about her new dog’s knee injury.

“She is going to take him to another orthopedic surgeon and see what can be done further for him,” Dr. Vinoski explains.

“I just want him to be safe,” Vonn said of Leo as the pair left the clinic for Vonn’s Seminole Landing home.

It looks like Vonn and Leo will get to rest, go through rehab, and recover together.